


The Hunger

by radioqueen



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: 2016 US Presidential Election, Anal Sex, Banter, Broken Bones, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Dissociation, Do Not Archive, Ejaculating on Victim's Property After Rape, F/M, Forced Ejaculation, Forced Orgasm, Forced to Watch a Loved One's Rape, Gang Rape, Homelessness, Hospitals, Hunters & Hunting, Hurt/Comfort, Knifeplay, Mental Breakdown, Multi, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Non-Sexual Bondage, Object Insertion, Pissing on Victim's Property After Rape, Psychic Bond, Robbery, Stabbing, Vaginal Fingering, Wetting, destruction of property
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-04 17:35:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17308922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioqueen/pseuds/radioqueen
Summary: "I read your statement, you know. You don't kill people, only monsters!""The line gets blurrier every day."~~~On the night of the 2016 election, two British monster hunters get drunk, debate the line between humans and monsters, and find themselves on the other side of their own blades.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anysin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anysin/gifts).



> Thank you so much to my SPAG beta, El, for always being DTB (down to beta) and catching my most embarrassing typos! You're the real MVP.

The shock set in around nine that night, when most of the Eastern seaboard went red. That was when Trevor called the waitress over to their booth to order a pair of strong well drinks. After all, yesterday’s bounty pay had left Trevor and Julia with more than enough for the guns and papers and petrol on their shopping list, even if they splurged on a few meals. By ten, Julia was slurring her way through the Wikipedia mobile page for the electoral college while Trevor chugged dollar beers. By eleven, an eerie hush had fallen over the bar, and Julia and her phone were both face down on the sticky table.  But as far as Trevor was concerned, there were worse places to hold a wake for civilized American society than a Daytona dive bar, and worse people to do it with than Julia. So when she irritably rubbed a wet wipe over her face around midnight, he ordered her another dollar beer and an order of soft pretzels, then picked an argument to cheer her up.

“Fuck you!” Julia was exclaiming only 37 seconds later. “I think it’s a fucking _terrific_ theory! Better than yours, anyway.”

“I’m not saying it’s a bad theory,” Trevor said. “I’m just saying, it’s probably not too likely, is it?”

"And _I'm_ just saying, it is _absolutely_ an entity, and it’s sexist that no one has ever investigated it," Julia insisted, propped up on her arm. "You can believe that the fear of getting eaten is a supernatural thing, and so is the fear of being watched, but not the fear of getting stalked by a creep at the bar or backhanded by a grown man playing Call of Duty?” She shuddered. “God, I’ll feel better when I have that Sig Sauer in my hands.”

“Hey now, I never said it’s not dangerous to be a woman!” Trevor always enjoyed the snappy, borderline-telepathic pace of their arguments, and tonight was no exception. “Or a tramp, for that matter. I just don’t think it’s always a supernatural thing.”

“It must be, though! Honestly, think about it. It's not _just_ The Stranger, because partners and fathers and friends do this shit all the time too. But those rich, ignorant twats were sitting there, sipping their scotch or whatever, writing down all these common fears, and women getting attacked by men _didn’t even make the list?_ It’s all sexist bullshit made up by rich old white guys, Trev.”

"Maybe, but that don’t make it supernatural.” Trevor stole a piece of pretzel. “Some people are just dicks."

Julia stuffed the last of her pretzel into her mouth and spoke with her mouth full. “Oh, but you still say ‘The Hunger’ is an entity—” She swallowed. “—and not The Desolation or just people being dicks?”

“I said it _could_ be,” Trevor said. “And like I said, I still don’t know if ‘Hunger’ is the best way to describe it. Maybe ‘The Deprivation’ is better. Anyway, it could be supernatural, could not be.”

“Well, we seem to do all right,” Julia said. “I’ve been a tramp like you for, what, five or six years now? And I’ve never felt the kind of deprivation you describe.”

“That’s because we’re not real tramps,” Trevor reminded her. _And because I take good care of you and would never let you go hungry or sick or unsheltered._ “We’re more vagabonds, I’d say. Point is, that fear of starvation could be an entity, maybe. And sure, ‘The Patriarchy’ _could_ be an entity too. But so far we’ve only got the fourteen we’ve got, and yeah, maybe Smirke never explored those other, way-more-common fears because he _was_ a privileged old jerk who didn’t know anything about the real world. But I’m no expert—”

“I’ll say,” Julia interrupted.

“So I’m just playing Devil’s Advocate,” Trevor finished. “And all I’m saying is, maybe those fears aren’t supernatural at all, just humans being shits to each other.”

“Unbelievable,” Julia huffed. “So you’re saying I don’t know a monster when I see one?”

“Nah, just… maybe some monsters are still human. That’s all.”

“This isn’t normal, though, Trev.” Julia gestured at the TV. “This is _weird._ Monster-ous. America’s just elected a sentient, misogynist blob of spray tan, you _still_ won’t believe in the truth staring you right in the eyes.”

“That’s because, despite my age, I’ve still got 20/20 vision,” Trevor said. “Unlike some losers who pretend to be hunters but see a ghost behind every Florida driver who cuts ‘em off, _I_ can see perfectly normally.”

Julia perked up instantly at his teasing personal attack. “Well, that’s good, because you’re more than ugly enough without glasses. I think you might legitimately blind me if you added glasses into the mix.”

“My God! The lack of respect is out of control with you lot!” Trevor feigned indignation. “In my day, we respected our elders! Even if they _were_ ugly old gits!”

“Mmm. I’ll be sure to get right on that.” Julia sipped her beer. “Just let me know when you do something worth respecting, ugly old git.”

“Someone oughta tan your hide, young lady.”

“Maybe, but _you’d_ better not try, because I’m pretty sure that's illegal in Canada.”

“First of all, just because you're getting a Canadian passport don't mean you're actually Canadian.”

“Sure it does!” Julia’s expression darkened again. “Canadian enough to get out of this shithole if they don’t do a recount, anyway.”

“Second of all,” Trevor persisted, determined to take her mind off politics, “we’re in America now, so Canada don’t have no say in the matter. And _third of all,_ I doubt Canada polices what consenting adults do in their bedrooms.”

“Gross, Trev. Don’t make me think about you in the bedroom, especially not if it involves you spanking me.”

“Can't help it!” Trevor said cheerfully. “That's what a life on the streets does to you.”

“Mm, no, I’m calling bullshit. I’ve been on the streets for years too, and yet _somehow_ I’m not a nasty old pervert who goes around talking about spanking ladies.”

“Who said anything about ‘ladies’? I was talking about spanking _you.”_

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I use too fancy a word for you to understand, you illiterate old hobo?”

That jab would have stung Trevor fifty years ago, but she knew as well as he did that he could write a mean formal paper when he wanted to, so he just laughed.

“Nah,” he said. “You just say ‘fuck’ too much to be a proper lady, that’s all.”

“And how would you know what makes a proper lady?” Julia cocked an eyebrow. “I’m the first female who’s gotten within a meter of you in the past ten years.”

“Hey, careful now. That smart mouth is gonna get you in trouble someday.”

“I wish!” Julia rolled her eyes. “You’d have to stop acting like a senile idiot for me to even have the chance to get myself into trouble.”

“Kids these days!” Trevor huffed into his beard. “No respect at all. Rude-arse brats, the lot of you.”

“I’m right, though, aren’t I? When will it be _my_ turn to get myself into trouble, hm?”

“You’re already in trouble. I’ve got half a mind to take you over my knee right here.”

“And what if I take you over my knee first?”

“Well, I’ve never been one to turn down gifts, especially not ones that normally cost two hundred an hour.”

“Oh, you thought I’d spank you for free?” Julia licked foam from her pink lips. “That’s cute. You should know by now you get the hunting partner rate.”

“Really, and how much is that?”

“The low, low price of five hundred an hour.”

“I could get spanked by the queen for that much, and she’s a hell of a lot prettier than you.” Trevor stuck his feet onto the booth seat next to Julia. “How much per swat?”

“More than your entire life is worth. Sorry! That’s the market price for ugly old tramps.”

“Well, that’s no way to talk about yourself. I’d hardly call you old.”

“Oh, Trevor, I just remembered what _is_ free!”

“What’s that?”

“Dumping my beer on you and driving off to Miami without you.”

“That’s harsh, Jul. Will you at least leave Gerry so I have some company?”

“Absolutely. You two were positively made for each other.”

It was flirting, in a way, although they both knew it would never come to anything. Neither of them was interested enough in sex to deal with the fuss or the complications. Because it was one thing to joke about spanking Julia, or even to imagine his spunk landing on her pretty, waiting face when Trevor jerked off; it was another thing altogether to actually do that to his hunting partner. Their relationship was perfect as it was, and Trevor had no interest in changing it.

Still, the sexual tension and banter was fun. Trevor supposed it was their way of marking each other as their hunting partners—treating each other in ways they wouldn’t stand for anyone else doing. And it was a great way to distract themselves from the shitshow currently happening on the TVs in the dive bar.

~~~

They were both more than a little tipsy by two in the morning, when the bar shut down and they had to trek back to the far end of the massive parking lot. It was a bit of a hike, especially on Trevor’s worn-out old feet, but it was worth it to be out of the way for however long they needed to sleep off their beers. There was even a streetlight overhead, so Julia’s mobile could take the night off from being her nightlight.

They were halfway through the empty lot when Trevor noticed the SUV slowing behind them. He still didn’t pay much attention to it until someone called out from it.

“Hey! Lady! Hey, you in the jeans!”

Julia stiffened but didn’t slow down. Her head barely tipped to the side, and Trevor knew she was sizing up the threat.

“Yeah, you! Over here.”

Julia walked a little faster and a little closer to Trevor. Her hand dug in her jacket pocket for her keys.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me, dyke!”

“We know you can hear us.”

“We just have a question for you!”

“Come on! Don’t be a bitch.”

With an annoyed sigh. Julia stopped and turned to face them. Trevor stood just behind her, ready to back her up.

“What?” Julia demanded, looking more annoyed than frightened. “What do you want?”

“You wanna make some fast money?” A boy, no more than twenty or so, waved a hundred dollar bill out the front passenger side window.

Julia turned and walked away. “Not interested, sorry.”

“Come on! A hundred bucks for one hour!”

“I’m good, thanks.” Julia bumped into Trevor in her haste to get away from the SUV. “Best of luck finding someone who’s actually interested.”

It wasn’t that Julia was too good for sex work. In fact, that was how she’d kept Trevor fed and medicated and in a warm bed all last winter when he’d caught pneumonia. But it was more of a last resort thing, and she never worked outdoors—unless they were hunting something that was preying on street-based workers, of course. When Julia was just trying to make money, she used her mobile to post adverts online and screen customers beforehand. Besides, they didn’t even need money at the moment, having just turned in a major bounty.

These boys, however, didn’t want to take no for an answer.

“A hundred fifty, then? Just for sucking us off?”

“I said no!” Julia glared over her shoulder. “Piss off!”

The SUV swerved and stopped just ahead of Julia and Trevor, and Trevor noticed the Greek letters and the logo for the local aeronautical engineering university on the back window. Out hopped four boys in polo shirts and cargo pants. Two of them wore red “Make America Great Again” caps.

“Come on, just suck us off real quick and we’ll go.”

“Are your ears clogged? I said I’m not fucking interested.” Julia’s fingers twitched toward her boot, where her knife was hidden. “Why not leave me alone and go find someone who’ll be happy to take your money? Ridgewood is 5 minutes that way.”

They laughed at that, surrounding her and Trevor. His nose wrinkled.

“I could take these little brats solo,” Trevor muttered. “What do you want to do, Jul?”

“What’s that, Grandpa?” one of the youngsters demanded. “You got something to say to us?”

“Just leave us alone,” Julia repeated, this time in her best security guard voice. “I don’t want this to get ugly. Why don’t you go shoot fireworks off the beach or something?”

“Did that already. Had a nice little bonfire and everything. But then our sorority friends had to get back before their house curfew, so we’ve been a little bored.”

The boys closed in on Julia and Trevor.

“Look, lesbian or not, you don’t look like someone who can turn down a hundred bucks,” said one of the young men.

Julia wasn’t even a lesbian. As far as Trevor knew, she was like him in that she wasn’t exactly interested in anyone, although he knew she’d had a few boyfriends. She just kept her hair short and wore her faded jeans for practical, monster-hunting reasons. Trevor had never given it much thought, if he was being honest.

“You should give dick a try,” another boy said. “You might like it.”

Julia’s knife was out of her boot a split second after Trevor realized she was going for it. Trevor immediately tackled the kid nearest him and then rolled into the leg of the one standing next to where he landed. He heard Julia grunt, and one of the boys screamed in pain.

“What the fuck?!” he shouted. “The fucking bitch stabbed me!”

The kid Trevor was trying to take down stomped down on Trevor’s hand, more due to losing his balance than because he meant to. Lucky bastard. Trevor roared in pain and threw his shoulder into the lad’s leg. A quick flex of his hand told him nothing was broken. His relief was short-lived, though, as a boat shoe kicked him hard in the ribs. It was another lucky shot, or maybe Trevor was just even drunker than he’d thought. Whatever the case, the kick knocked all the air out of Trevor’s lungs, leaving him wheezing on his hands and knees.

“Get her fucking knife!”

“I’m trying! She’s just… _fast!_ Oh, shit—”

Julia kneed the kid in the groin while Trevor tried to stagger back to his feet. He stuffed his hand into his jacket pocket and found his own pocket knife, but no sooner had he whipped it out then something struck the back of his head with a tinkling crash. An empty bottle, he realized, uselessly, as he toppled forward.

By the time Trevor shook off the blow, his knife was gone, and there was something binding his ankles together and his wrists behind his back. A zip tie, he thought. He tried to roll onto his knees and was promptly kicked back down.

“Get your hands off me!” Julia’s voice was shrill. “I’m warning you!”

That made them chuckle.

“Oh no! She’s warning us, guys!”

“Better do what she says, huh?”

Julia could probably could have taken at least three, maybe all four of them, on a good day. Even moderately injured, she could have broken free and run for help. But she was even more drunk than Trevor was, and, competent as she was, her coordination was off and her strikes were sloppy. She lunged too hard at one standing over Trevor, and he easily sidestepped her and locked her arm in his at the elbow.

“Take it!” he shouted. “Hurry, take the knife!”

Two of them pried Julia’s fist open and wrestled the knife from her fingers.

“Nice one, man.”

“I knew those Tae Kwon Do lessons at the Y would pay off,” the one holding Julia said.

Julia stomped on his foot, and the boy howled as he reflexively backhanded her.

“Jesus Christ, that hurt!” he complained.

“Dude, I’m fucking sick of this psycho bitch’s MMA champion delusions.”

Julia’s free hand twisted awkwardly, her clawed fingers aiming for the eyes of the kid holding her.

At the last moment, another spotted her intentions and grabbed her hard by the wrist. “Oh no you fucking don’t!” He slammed her left arm into her back.

“Goddammit, this cut is bleeding so much,” complained the boy holding Julia’s arm in his. “Someone break her fucking knife hand already!”

“I’m on it, man.”

There was a horrible snap and an even more horrible scream from Julia. Trevor was sure someone would come help them now—surely they’d heard that piercing scream! But no one even peered out a back door.

The boys pushed Julia onto her knees on the pavement, her good hand still held firmly behind her back. She was holding her broken right arm close to her chest all on her own, and she was still crying out in pain.

“Stop screaming.” The one slapped her on the face. “I said, stop screaming!”

Julia spat onto his cargo pants and screamed again, this time just to spite him.

“Oh my God, seriously, stop screaming or we’ll put Ethan’s sock in your mouth.”

“Yeah, he’s got the stinkiest feet. Show her, Ethan.”

The one who seemed to be called Ethan snorted and stepped out of his boat shoe, wiggling his toes. He leaned on one of his buddies and stuck his socked foot over Julia’s mouth, muffling her. She coughed and jerked her head to the side, but she also stopped screaming.

 _Just be quiet and watch for an opening,_ Trevor tried to tell Julia without saying it. _They’ll fuck up sooner or later, and we’ll get the upper hand again if we keep an eye out._

“Let’s see what they’re trying to protect,” the one in charge said. “Search them.”

The one called Ethan stuck his hand into Trevor’s pockets and pulled out the worn leather wallet Julia had lifted for him last father’s day.

“Whoa, holy shit!” Ethan held up several fresh hundred dollar bills. “What's a pair of homeless people doing with this much money?”

“Drugs?”

“No way they got it legally,” said the leader. He checked Julia’s pocket and found her decoy wallet, which held only a few twenties. “I bet we'd be doing the police a favor by taking it off their hands.”

“Do you think there’s more?”

“Yeah, but they’ve probably hid the rest in weird places,” said Ethan. “I heard druggies always hide the good stuff up their butts.”

“Sounds like the perfect excuse to strip search this stabby bitch.” The leader prodded Julia with his toe. “Maybe we'll even give her a cavity search.”

They patted Trevor down and found the cash he’d stuffed in the ankles of his boots, and the ones who were stripping Julia found her real wallet tucked into the waistband of her underwear. Poor Jul—she wasn't used to the loss yet, not like Trevor was. It wasn’t just the money they were taking, Trevor knew. It was her father’s wristwatch, which she always wore despite it being just a little too big for her wrist. It was the knife Trevor had nicked as a birthday present for her. It was the promise of food and shelter and papers and a shiny new Sig Sauer to defend herself in situations like this one. Julia yelled and kicked until one of them punched her in the face so hard it dazed her, and even that didn’t fully stop her thrashing as they stripped her naked.

“Julia!” Trevor snapped. “Julia, stop!”

She did stop, if only because he never used her full first name. She glowered up at him, trying to focus properly on him despite what was probably a concussion.

“You’re going to get us killed, Jul,” Trevor said. “Just let them take what they want.”

“But Trevor—!” _That’s all our money,_ her distraught tone seemed to say. _How can you let them take all our money?_

“Fuck the money, Jul.” Trevor spat a mouthful of blood over his shoulder. “We can make more. Your life is worth more than a couple grand, all right? Just give them what they want, and don’t give ‘em a reason to hurt us any worse.”

 _How can you say that?!_ Julia’s semi-focused eyes burned into him. _You’re just going to sit there like a fucking coward while they rape me in a bar parking lot?! Fuck that! I’m going down fighting!_

“Julia, listen.” Trevor caught her eye. “It’s not worth dying over. Just let them take what they want.”

“Listen to your old man.” The leader yanked Julia by the hair until she landed on her back.

“Yeah, just let us do our thing.” One of the other boys helped pull Julia’s knees apart. “We’ll be in and out in thirty minutes, or your money back.”

There was a chorus of “Ohhh!” and the others fist-bumped him.

Julia lay naked and shivering on the pavement. It wasn’t terribly cold in Central Florida, but the November air was cool enough that her nipples were hard and her breasts were downy with gooseflesh. Trevor could feel her fear, and for once, their link hurt him enough he almost wished it didn’t exist.

_I’m so scared, I just want Trevor to save me again like he did in Manchester, no, God, no, just fucking stop! Go away! Stop touching me! Stop looking at me! Scared, scared, so fucking scared, just leave me alone leave me alone leave me OUCH FUCK—_

The boy in charge, the one wearing his cap the right way, shoved two dry fingers into her, and Julia instinctively tried to close her legs. That earned her another punch, this time to the stomach, and after that she just lay still and let them do as they pleased. Trevor boiled with rage, but he was relieved that Julia seemed to finally be saving her energy instead of making things worse for herself.

“Damn, no drugs,” the leader joked. He licked his pinky then stuck it into Julia’s back entrance. “Nothing back here, either.”

The one called Ethan rubbed the soft, light hair on Julia’s legs. “I know my way around a bush.” He nodded to Julia’s well-trimmed pubes. “But I’ve never seen a girl who doesn’t shave her legs. Is that an Australian thing?”

“She doesn’t even shave her pits. Talk about gross.” A second boy, a tall, muscular, athletic lad, joined the leader in forcing his fingers inside Julia, and they delighted in wiggling their digits around inside her until Trevor wanted to vomit. “Jesus, she’s bone dry,” the second boy complained. “Is that normal? Or is it, like, a menopause thing?”

Trevor was insulted on Julia’s behalf. She was barely 33—certainly nowhere near menopause age.

“No, dumbass, it’s not a menopause thing.” The one in charge spat on Julia’s pussy and then finger-fucked her vigorously. “Older women are just dry sometimes when you have to convince them. Try fucking someone other than Tri-Sigmas for once.”

“Older women usually use this gel stuff called ‘lube,’” Ethan offered. “I don’t have any, though. They usually have it at their places. But for real, how do you not know women are dry sometimes?”

“Hey, get off my dick!” The athletic boy bristled. “Not all of us have enough game to catch hot cougars on Tinder.”

They might as well have been speaking a foreign language, but Trevor recognized Tinder as one of the places Julia sometimes advertised on.

“I’m going first,” the leader said. “I don’t want to catch whatever diseases you sick fucks have. Who’s after me?”

“Is she going to be dry the whole time?” asked the athletic boy. “I don’t want friction burns on my junk.”

“God, you’re dumb.” The leader rolled his eyes. “We’re gonna get her wet first. Obviously.”

“Ohhh. How?”

“She’s a girl! She probably has lotion or whatever in her pockets.”

“Oh fuck, I just had the best idea!” Ethan suddenly bolted to the SUV. He returned a moment later, carrying a six-pack of frosty, dripping beer bottles. “Are these wet enough?”

“Ha!” The leader grinned. “Yeah, that’ll probably do it. Gentlemen, let’s get our guest a beer!”

“Are we going to put it in her pussy?” asked the athletic one.

“No, we’re going to put it in her hand and play some Overwatch with her.” The leader popped the cap off a beer and took a gulp. “Of course we're putting it in her pussy, dumbass.”

“Fine, I was just asking. You don’t have to be sarcastic.”

The quiet one spoke up at that. “What he really means is, ‘we’re going to put it in her cunt and then take turns kicking her in the cunt until the bottle shatters.”

“Okay, Jesus, dude! You don’t have to be psycho!”

The leader popped the caps off the rest of the beers and handed one to each of the others.

“Hey, can I put it in her, since it was my idea?” asked the one called Ethan.

“Be my guest.”

Ethan knelt between Julia’s legs while two of the other boys held her knees back. The leader stood over Trevor, drinking his beer and keeping Julia’s knife at the ready.

“Incoming,” Ethan warned, rubbing the icy bottle lip along Julia’s labia. “Beep, beep, beep…”

Julia dry-heaved and turned her head. _I can’t watch this, I won’t watch this, I don’t want Trevor to watch this, oh please fuck no why won’t anyone come help us? Please don't watch, Trev, don't._

Despite her feelings, Trevor couldn't look away. If he hid his face like a coward and they hurt her, or at least hurt her worse than anticipated… He felt like he was going to be violently ill from the idea. He _had_ to watch the whole thing, and he wasn’t sure why—either it was to punish himself for not preventing it from happening to her, or it was so he could take any chance they gave him. But whatever the case, there was no way he was looking away for even a second.

Ethan tried to insert the bottle, and Julia panicked and involuntarily tried to kick him.

“No, fuck that. Hold her legs tighter.” The leader opened Julia’s wallet and took out her ID. “Okay. You’re Julia Montauk? Born… 1983? Wow, you’re almost as old as my mom.”

She stared up at him, half defiant and half afraid. He squatted and squeezed her broken arm while Julia tried not to scream.

“Hi, Julia,” he said. “My name is Chase. You already know Ethan, so the dumb, muscle-y one is Austin, and the quiet, psycho one is Zach.”

The former’s MAGA hat was turned backward. The latter winked at Julia, who just turned back to stare at Chase.

“Now that we’ve been properly introduced, I think you deserve to know our itinerary.” Chase flicked open her knife. “This is sharp, huh? Sorry, I digress.” He stroked her knife tip lightly over her sex, using it to separate folds and probe orifices. “So, basically, we just want to have sex with you, nothing worse than that. ‘Fraternity Brothers Stab Homeless Woman to Death’ isn’t exactly the headline any of us want following us around. Don’t get me wrong, any of our dads could hire lawyers to get us off on involuntary manslaughter, but we don’t _get off_ on that, if you get what I’m saying. Yeah?”

Julia closed her eyes and nodded.

“I kind of get off on it,” Zach said.

“Oh my God, _stop,”_ Chase said. “You’re driving me insane, dude. Anyway, none of us except maybe Zach get off on hurting women. You’re just convenient, and we deserve it after you stabbed us, so yeah. We’re going to play with you real quick, no permanent damage—I mean, _probably—_ and then we’ll let you go. And after you stabbed some of us a couple of times, I’d say that’s plenty generous!” Chase gestured to Trevor with her knife. “So if you put up a fight, we’ll stab Grandpa so you’re motivated to help us finish fast. And if you’re really bad, I mean, I guess we’ll have to kill both of you? But we don’t want to do that, so just _be good._ Got it?”

Julia nodded again.

“Say it.”

“I’ll be good.”

“Great.” Chase closed the knife and stuffed it into his pocket. “I love your accent, by the way. Australian, right?”

“British,” Julia was forced to answer.

“Cool. Okay, Ethan, try it again.”

Julia didn’t even struggle this time as Ethan forced the beer bottle in. She simply watched the act with a blank expression. The only sign of life was the snorted bursts of steam from her nose, like a nervous horse. If Trevor weren’t her hunting partner, he wouldn’t have known how terrified she was that Ethan was going to break the bottle inside her.

He didn’t, though. He just fucked her with it until beer sloshed out of her and soaked a darker black circle on the asphalt underneath her. The others cheered him on, taking swigs of their beers and videos on their phones. Julia’s link to Trevor faded as her mind dissociated from her body and retreated somewhere safer. She barely twitched when Ethan lowered his face to her pussy and slurped the beer leaking from her while he fucked her with the bottle.

“Mmm. Nectar of the gods.” Ethan flicked his tongue over the rest of her pussy. “She tastes better than I thought, like, for a homeless lady.”

“That’s fucking disgusting,” Austin said.

Chase shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat.”

 _Jul?_ Trevor tried not to distract her too loudly. _Are you all right?_

She was too deep in her own head to respond, but he felt her there. She accidentally pulled him inside, and he was suddenly stargazing, nestled between two warm, large adults on hot grass.

“There, do you see it? Ursa Major,” a woman’s voice said. Her accent and cadence were very like Julia’s.

“I don’t see it, only Ursa Minor,” a little girl replied.

“The bright patch of stars to the right,” came a deep man’s voice.

“I see it!” Little Julia gasped.

“Mama bear is never far from her baby bear,” the woman said into Julia’s ear. “All the better to… tickle her!”

Little Julia squealed with laughter. Trevor was jerked back out of her memory by a sudden explosion and a shower of golden sparks overhead. Fireworks, illegal ones, and not too far away. Julia didn’t even flinch. She was back in Dartford circa summer 1989, and her little body was safe and sound between her parents’ protective forms.

Julia’s adult body was unsafe and unsound in present day Florida, but it was also highly stimulated, and Trevor felt a stirring in his trousers despite himself. He was imagining his mouth on Julia, and seeing her spread open just a meter away, smelling her scent, feeling her body’s primal response like it was his own… His dick didn't care whether Julia was interested. It just wanted a turn in that delicious, dripping pussy. He tried not to focus on that as he watched over her.

It was a mercy that none of the boys noticed Julia’s orgasm. In fact, it was a mercy that she barely seemed to notice it herself, other than to broadcast a few seconds of vague chagrin that Trevor had witnessed it. Trevor had never seen her orgasm before, but it was just as quiet and delicious as it was whenever she thought he was asleep.

 _I don’t actually like being raped with a cold bottle, I hope you know,_ she thought. _I don’t know why that just happened, but it’s not some sick kink I have, or anything like that._

 _I know,_ Trevor tried to assure her, _I never thought that,_ but she was already long gone again. Their link was imprecise at the best of times; he hoped she’d gotten the gist of his reply.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Chase said. “Why not see if our friend Julia wants a real drink?”

They pulled the bottle out of her and shoved it straight into her lips.  Julia pressed her lips tight.

“She’s not thirsty, I guess.”

“Drink it or we’ll bash your teeth in.”

“Zach!” Ethan looked offended. “Relax, Miss Julia, we won’t do that.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to side with Ethan,” Chase said. “I don’t want to fuck anyone with broken teeth.”

“It would be fun, though.”

“No! Come on, dude.” Ethan gave his friend a reproving look. “We talked about the psycho act, like, an hour ago. You need to chill. You’re not making the girls more scared, you’re just making your friends not want to party with you.”

“Okay, okay, so what do you propose we do instead?”

“I mean, not _that,_ for sure.” Ethan shrugged. “We could put it up her ass. Wasn’t there a whole thing about other frats getting drunk that way?”

The four of them hooted with laughter at that idea.

“Okay,” Chase said. “Open your mouth, Julia, or we’re going to fuck your ass with the bottle and dump the beer up there.”

Julia quickly opened her mouth and let them pour beer down her throat.

“Chug, chug, chug!”

They made Julia choke down most of the remaining beer. When there was only a few swallows left, they let her catch her breath.

That was when Austin suddenly shouted with a laugh, “Oh my God, look! The old man has a boner.”

Chase unzipped Trevor’s jeans, and, sure enough, a shameful erection sprung free. “You want a drink too, Grandpa?” he asked. “She tastes pretty good.”

Austin forced the bottle to Trevor’s lips then, and he didn’t protest as they made him finish off the beer. Julia’s taste was even sweeter than her scent, and having it rubbed on his mustache and lips made Trevor harder than he’d been in at least a decade.

While Trevor was finishing the beer, Chase was climbing on top of Julia. She blinked back to reality, only to squirm in alarm.

“Wait, I have to use the toilet,” she protested.

“You’re just going to have to wait another…” Chase checked his smartwatch. “Twenty-four minutes. Sorry.”

“Please use a condom,” Julia said through gritted teeth. “You really don’t want to fuck me without a condom.”

“Sure I do!” Chase said.

“I’m a disgusting hobo and I haven’t showered in a week,” Julia insisted. “You definitely want to wear a condom.”

“I definitely don’t care,” Chase said. And with that, he plunged inside her.

Overwhelmed by having a stranger so close, inside her, Julia turned her head and threw up. Ethan tossed a few tissues at her, and Julia clumsily used her left hand to wipe her face.

“How does she feel?” Austin asked.

“Honestly, pretty cold,” Chase said, drawing laughter from his peers. “We did _not_ think this through. The smart thing would’ve been to wash her out with beer when we’re done with her. Oh well. Hindsight is 50/50, right? Hey, help me move her away from the puke.”

They lifted Julia a meter or so away, Chase buried inside her all the while. Julia only made a sound when they jostled her broken arm, at which point Ethan held his freshly opened beer to her lips—an offering of liquid comfort. Julia took a sip and then turned her head and dissociated again. Trevor wished he could follow her, but instead he dutifully watched over her body.

 _You go where you need to,_ he told her mind, wherever it was. _I’ll try to keep you safe while you’re gone._

Despite Julia lying lifelessly underneath him, Chase didn’t last long. Within a few minutes, he was breathing hard and trembling as he fell still on top of her.

“Is she warm again?” Zach asked.

“Yeah, and slimy, too.” Chase pushed up onto his elbows and wiped his dick in the crease between Julia’s hip and thigh. “You’re welcome.”

“Ha, good.” Zach grinned. “I’ve always wanted to fuck a corpse, but I think I want it to still be warm when I do.”

“TMI, dude.” Chase stood up. “Way TMI.”

Now that the blood was leaving his dick for his brain, Chase became restless. He took Julia’s keys and clicked the unlock button. The tail lights of their car flashed traitorously in the dark, and Chase wandered off to investigate.

Zach fumbled with a condom before lying on top of Julia. Trevor felt relief on her behalf, even if she was too far gone from her body to notice. That was where the boy’s kindness ended, though. He slapped Julia to try to get a response from her, and when that didn’t work, he choked her until she clawed at his hand in panic.

“Beg for your life,” he ordered.

“Hey!” Austin protested. “I want a turn with her before you kill her!”

Zach ignored him. Julia glanced from Zach to Trevor, trying to re-orient herself and recall when and how her rapists had switched. Zach rubbed the flat of Trevor’s pocket knife against her cheek.

“Beg me not to kill you,” he said.

“Please don’t kill us,” Julia said flatly.

“Nope, nuh uh, you can do better than that. Convince me.” He dug a tiny gouge into her cheek. “Like, _really_ convince me that you want to live, or I’ll stab the old man.”

“Please don’t kill us.” Julia rested her hand on the boy’s and looked into his eyes. “We’re not worth the legal trouble. We’re not even worth the effort of hiding our bodies. We’re just a pair of worthless tramps with no way to bother you even if you let us go. Please have mercy and let us live when you finish with us.”

“Yeah?” Zach’s pace was frenzied, like he was punishing Julia for stabbing him earlier. “Can I hurt you as long as I don’t kill you?”

There was clearly only one correct answer. Julia closed her eyes and took as deep a breath as she could. “Yes, you can do anything you want to me, just please don’t kill us.”

Zach slashed shallowly across her left shoulder—direct retribution for the cut through his polo shirt. Julia screamed in pain, but only because she knew he wanted her to. He caressed her neck with the knife next, and Trevor (or maybe it was actually Julia—it was too hard to tell) was suddenly filled with the cold certainty Zach would really kill her if she didn’t perform satisfactorily.

“Please don’t kill me,” she whimpered for him, detaching her mind even as she spoke. “I don’t want to die. Do whatever you want to me, hurt me, but please don’t kill me!”

Zach backhanded Julia hard and then threw his head back as he came. Trevor swallowed bile. This was all temporary, and the important thing was keeping Julia alive. But when he got free, he was going to kill this little shit first.

Julia didn’t dare move, even as her car pulled near the SUV.

“What did I miss?” Chase asked out the window of the car.

“Nothing,” Austin said. “Zach stabbed her a little.”

“I was about to fuck her,” Ethan said.

Chase hopped out and grabbed all of Trevor‘s and Julia’s belongings, throwing their bags on the pavement. “When you’re done, help me go through their shit.” He held up Julia’s crossbow. “They’ve got tons of weird Buffy shit.”

Austin dug through the trunk. “Hey, they’ve got chairs!” He unfolded a camping chair. “We could give Gramps a better view of the show.”

Trevor found himself hauled into the camping chair, which did unfortunately give him a better view. Zach had slipped off his condom and was trying to smear it against Julia’s lips.

“Open up.”

Julia shook her head wordlessly. He slapped her.

“Open your fucking mouth.”

Julia clenched her lips together more tightly.

“Fine, then. Be like that.” Zach stabbed Trevor in the thigh without looking.

“Trevor!” Julia gasped.

Trevor grunted but refused to give the little dickhead the satisfaction of hearing him scream. “I’m okay,” he assured her.

“No, you’re not! He just fucking stabbed you!”

“I’ll pull the knife out and let him bleed out,” Zach warned her. “Or maybe I won’t, if you hold your fucking mouth open.”

Julia gave Trevor a miserable look as she opened her mouth. _Don’t you dare watch this. I’ll never forgive you if you do._

Trevor closed his eyes for her, but he could still feel her fear and despair and disgust. Maybe she’d been right. Were these brats feeding some entity? He heard them guffawing as Julia gagged and choked. His fists were clenched so tightly he was losing feeling in his fingers.

“Swallow it! Ha, there we go!”

“Does that taste good, Julia?”

“Get your tongue in there and get that last little bit.”

 _Fuck this shit, I’m out,_ Julia’s mind said, and it retreated once again.

Trevor didn’t blame her in the slightest. If anything, he was glad she was picking flight over fight, since fight wasn’t a viable option. If he could’ve erased the whole thing for her, he would’ve. As it was, all he could do was go back to watching over her.

“Oh, you're so nice and tight, Miss Julia.” Ethan was big but gentle. He kissed her deeply, totally unconcerned by any lingering spunk, and rubbed her clit expertly.

Julia hated this more than any of the other things she’d endured so far, but she was afraid to even bother asking him to stop. She dug deeper into her mind, trying to ignore the way he was overstimulating her.

“Your pussy is so warm, Miss Julia,” Ethan said. “And it’s totally tighter than most MILFs, even though it’s already taken two cocks tonight.”

He was speaking gibberish again. He stroked her hair and kissed her as he began to move. Nearby, Chase and Zach were picking through the belongings they'd dumped on the ground.

“Hey, roll her over,” Austin said. “You're going to stretch her out, and I don’t want sloppy thirds.”

With help from Austin, Ethan rolled over with Julia so she was on top of him. Julia groaned in pain. Ethan tried to suck on her dangling breasts, so Julia rested her head on Ethan’s chest, tucking her injured arm close to her chest. Ethan looked flattered, despite no longer having access to her nipples.

“Yeah, you rest, Miss Julia.” He massaged her neck. “I know my cock is a lot to take.”

Austin unzipped and tried to force his cock into Julia's arse, earning a primal cry of agony from her. Without her mind, her body was pure instinct, almost feral. Even so, something restrained her from trying to fight them.

“Austin, you idiot.” Chase scoffed. “Have you never fucked a girl in the ass before? No wonder you never get a second date. You have to use lotion and put your finger in her butt first.”

He threw Julia's lotion bottle at Austin, who caught it and immediately squirted some onto his palm. Trevor willed him to warm Julia up properly, but he spent far less time than he should have before shoving his dick into her.

“Ow!” Julia cried out. “No, ow…”

Trevor didn't realize he was grinding his teeth until a molar cracked. It was vulgar and vile, what they were doing to his Julia, and if he'd been able to move he would have torn the fuckers apart. But he just sat there like a useless old fool, his knife wedged into his thigh and his dick lying hard on his lap in the chilly air.

His arousal was mostly Julia's— or at least, that's what he told himself. The pressure from their cocks against her overfull bladder was too much. Julia inhaled sharply as she wet herself, and losing control of her bladder made her orgasm for the second time that night. This time, she didn’t even care that Trevor felt it. She no longer gave a fuck about anything that happened to her.

“Ew, she's peeing.” Austin moved his knees out of the flow. “That’s disgusting.”

“No, she's not peeing,” Ethan said reverently. “She’s squirting.”

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s pee,” Zach said.

“Trust me, dude.” Ethan sniffed Julia’s hair. “I know everything about women. She's coming so hard she’s squirting… oh fuck, she’s squirting so much…”

“Oh fuck, I think you’re right!” Austin’s eyes rolled back in his head. “She’s totally squirting!”

Zach’s eyes rolled the normal way, and he pushed Julia's jacket and backpack against her to absorb the flow. Apparently, the idea that Julia was squirting was too much for the boys, because they emptied their balls into Julia in a matter of seconds.

As soon as they were done, they abandoned her on the ground like a discarded toy while they went to go loot with Chase. Zach pocketed Julia’s underwear as his trophy, then he stood over her, his foot keeping her left hand pressed into the small of her back. She didn’t move; she just lay there with her face pressed to the cold asphalt. More fireworks burst overhead, these ones coming from the direction of the beach.

The boys ransacked the rest of the belongings. They squirted out toiletries, pissed on clothes, stomped on breakables, and jerked themselves off onto the sad, wet piles. Trevor tried not to eye the secret compartment in the trunk, where Leitner’s Book of Skin—a tome Trevor and Julia affectionately referred to as “Gerry”—lay hidden. So far, it didn’t look like the scumbags had found it.

“Got everything?” Chase asked.

“Yup!”

“Then let's get out of here,” Chase said.

“Are we really going to leave Gramps with blue balls?” Austin asked.

“No, of course not!” There was a sadistic glint in Chase's eye. He yanked Julia onto her knees by a handful of her short hair and made her kneel in front of Trevor.

“No!” Trevor tried to kick himself away, chair and all. “Don't you fucking dare.”

“Jerk him off,” Chase ordered Julia.

She grabbed Trevor with her left hand and mechanically masturbated him. He hissed through his teeth, hating how hard he was standing at attention from her touch. Once again, his body refused to acknowledge that she didn’t really want it. All it knew was, _Oh, fuck, Julia’s hand feels like an angel’s._

“That’s it, Grandpa,” Austin hooted. “Shoot your spunk on her face.”

“Fuck you, and fuck your mothers!” Trevor spat a mouthful of blood in their direction. “You scumbags all deserve a belly full of spiders and a face full of maggot holes.”

They just laughed. Julia continued stroking him. Her knife calluses contrasted with her smooth skin, and it drove him insane. His dick hadn’t felt another person’s touch in more than ten years, and it was all he could do to clench his jaw and hold back. Honestly, if Julia hadn't had blood on her face and that vacant expression in her eyes, this would have been Trevor's biggest fantasy. She sensed his excitement and stroked him harder, her subconscious urging him to hurry and finish.

“I’m sorry, Jul,” Trevor gasped as he lost control. “I'm so sorry—”

Thick white semen spurted onto Julia's pretty face. It was so erotic Trevor immediately shot another load next to it.

“Open your mouth!” Zach snapped. “Stick out your tongue.”

Julia opened her mouth without protest, and Trevor's third spurt landed directly on her tongue. His entire body was tense from the pain in his thigh and the horrible humiliation of ejaculating on Julia's face. But the part of Julia that was paying attention was just relieved, sensing the nightmare was almost over. Well, small miracles and all that.

When the boys had finished laughing and taking pictures, Zach yanked the knife out of Trevor's leg. Then they peeled off, crunching both cars over the belongings they'd left on the ground.

“Jul,” Trevor said faintly. “Cut me loose.”

Her eyes were glued to the broken phone near her. She picked the phone up with her left hand and tried to turn it on, but it was soaked in piss and crushed beyond repair. She stared from the phone to Trevor, clearly too shell-shocked to process his words.

“Julia,” Trevor said, more forcefully this time. “You need to cut me loose and then go get help.”

“I can’t,” she said finally. “My hand—”

“Just do it carefully with your left hand, Jul. Please, come on. I need you to focus.”

The last thing he felt before passing out was Julia's bloody knife against his skin as she carefully wiggled it under the zip tie. As more fireworks shot overhead, the edges of Trevor’s sight went black and spotty, and he slumped forward out of the chair. He never felt the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

Trevor heard Julia sniffling softly before he realized where he was. Julia wasn't one for crying, so Trevor was instantly worried. He opened his eyes with difficulty. The room was dark, with only a little light from the crack under the door. No wonder Jul was crying; she was terrified of the dark.

As Trevor’s eyes adjusted, he realized he was in a hospital room. Julia was curled up in the oversized chair near his bed, wearing purple sweatpants and a long-sleeved yellow shirt that didn't look right on her. Her right arm was now in a cast that covered half her hand. She was drinking a juice box while reading through a brochure Trevor couldn’t make out the words on.  She still looked like total hell, but now she was a cleaner, more together version of hell.

“You drank my juice?” Trevor croaked. “Fucking… backstabbing… juice drinker…”

“Trevor! You stupid old git!” Julia was at his bedside in an instant, laughing through her tears and grabbing his hand and kissing it. “You scared the hell out of me! The doctors didn’t know if you’d wake up.”

“You… wish.” Trevor's throat was so dry he could barely get the words out.

Julia wiped her face on her sleeve, grabbed a cup of water, and brought the straw to his lips. Trevor drank greedily, but there was only a little in the cup. He closed his eyes and tried to gather enough strength to speak.

“Nice clothes,” he said, his voice a little stronger now. “Did… Did you rob… a nursing home?”

Julia laughed again. “All my other clothes are soaked in piss,” she said, and the laughter ended abruptly. “They wanted to take everything as evidence, but I didn’t let them. I’ll have to go to the launderette, though.”

“Evidence?” Trevor’s head was spinning, and he felt a wave of nausea. “Who tried to take everything?”

“The police,” Julia said.

Trevor yawned. Things must be bad if Julia, an illegal immigrant, sex worker, serial killer, and cop hater, had gone to the police for help.

“You’re going to have to start from the beginning,” Trevor said. “What happened after I passed out?”

“Someone called the police, and they got there right after those fuckers left—maybe five minutes? I had tied a tourniquet on your leg— _not_ easy to do one-handed, so I hope you’re grateful—and I was trying to get my jeans on when the police got there. They asked me what happened, and I—”

Julia’s mouth snapped shut. She was embarrassed by something, but Trevor was too tired to read her properly. Or maybe she was just closing herself off from him. It didn’t feel right, whatever the case.

“What?” he asked, trying to think of a funny quip to cheer her up. “Did you, er, faint at the sight of blood or somethin’?”

Normally Julia would have retorted that she saw at least 25% more blood than he did every month, or that he was the one who’d fainted, or both. But she just sat there in an embarrassed silence.

“What?” Trevor asked again, fearing the worst. “What’d you do, Jul?”

“I forgot how to talk,” she said at last.

“You… what?” Trevor had expected just about anything but that. “How’d you forget how to talk?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Julia rubbed her forehead. “I was hurt and shaken up and worried about you, and I was wearing nothing but my jacket and a pair of dirty underwear, and when the two officers drew their weapons on me… it sounds silly in hindsight, but I desperately wanted to climb into that bin to hide. But I couldn’t leave you.”

“So you just growled at 'em like a feral cat?” Trevor tried to picture it. “Hissed at 'em a little?”

“No.” Julia sighed. “I just laid down beside you. Maybe I meant to shield you with my body, but I think I was just out of ideas, honestly. You were so adamant about me not ‘getting us killed,’ and I suppose that was still imprinted in my brain.”

“Huh.” Trevor wasn’t about to question their good luck on that front. “Well, how’d that work for you?”

“Well enough. They still handcuffed you to the stretcher for a bit, I guess because they reckoned you must’ve been the one who attacked me, but they didn’t shoot me like they probably would’ve done if I’d run away. Or, worse, _at_ them.”

“They definitely would’ve shot you if you’d run at 'em,” Trevor agreed.  “So the police brought us here?”

“No, they asked me a lot of questions I couldn’t answer while they gave you and me first aid,” Julia said. “Paramedics showed up a few minutes later, and I rode with you in the ambulance while the police put tape around the parking lot and followed. I was shaky from the alcohol wearing off, and I panicked when they tried to take you away for surgery, so the medical staff gave me a bit of Valium and put me in a private room. I suppose I’m lucky they didn’t have me committed, looking back on it. It took ages for them to fix my arm, and they wouldn’t let me drink anything or use the toilet until they ‘examined’ me, in case I wanted to press charges. But they were insistent about fixing my arm first, even though no one was free to do all the x-rays and casting for a long time. I told them I didn’t even want to be examined aside from my arm, and I definitely didn’t want to press charges, but they said the state would only pay for my medical care if I had the exam and pressed charges.”

“Good ol’ America,” Trevor murmured. “Did you go through with it all?”

“It wasn’t so bad, compared to what came before it.” Julia’s tight voice belied her casual words. “I’m sure The Eye got a nice big meal out of it, but I’ve been through worse than a lot of swabs and questions.”

“I’m sorry, Jul,” Trevor said. “If I could’ve been there—”

“I’m fine,” she snapped. “I made it through just fine without you babysitting me.”

He was too tired to think of any response to that, let alone a witty one. So he waited for her to go on, while she waited for him to say something so she didn’t have to. They were good at waiting. They were hunters, after all.

To kill some time, Trevor felt around his bed, and, sure enough, found the switch to the lamp over his head. He flicked it on, and Julia covered her red-rimmed eyes with her fingers.

“That’s better,” Trevor said. “No point sitting in the dark.”

“God, I’m wickedly hungover.” Julia looked down at her cast. “Warn me next time before you turn on a light, or else buy me something greasy to soak up the alcohol and Valium.”

Trevor chuckled. “Sure thing, Jul.”

The cuts on her face and arm had been stitched up, but purple bruises on her face and neck threatened to turn uglier over the coming days. It hurt to look at her, but Trevor also felt a pang of pride at her new battle scars. For once, she looked almost as tough as she really was.

“You did good, Jul,” Trevor said. “You saved me.”

“I don’t actually live for your praise, you know!” Julia said, but there was guilt under her words, not anger. _They wouldn’t have even bothered you if not for me._

“Well, I don’t care if you live for it or not!” Trevor shot back. “It’s true and I’m gonna say it! You saved me, so thank you.”

Julia was uncomfortable now, so Trevor decided to change the subject before she could brush him off.

“How much did you tell the police?” Trevor asked. “Are we gonna have problems when the four little cockroaches go missing?”

“No, I told them almost nothing,” Julia said. “The hospital got a female officer in to grill me about the crime. I told her I was drunk at the time and I didn’t remember anything. No identifying features, no car make or model, nothing. Just, ‘Oh, my arm hurts so badly I can’t think, and do you know if my friend is out of surgery yet?’ I even told her I was here illegally. I think I had a moment of homesickness, where I just wanted to go home no matter how much it ruined things, but she was infuriatingly placid about everything. ‘We’re not going to deport you for being assaulted.’ Sure, not _yet,_ you’re not.”

“Eh, maybe it won’t be as bad as all that,” Trevor said. “Or at least, we won’t get attacked again. Not like that.”

“Optimism doesn’t suit you. But I did remember a few things I didn’t tell the police.” Julia held up a paper where she’d written the Greek letters for their fraternity and the SUV’s license plate number in a shaky, left-handed script. “I deliberately burned them into my mind while they were raping me. I’d bet anything there’s a housing unit on campus with those letters on it. That’s where we’ll find them.”

“Smart work, Jul,” Trevor said. “You’re making me feel downright lazy.”

She should have said that that was because he was a lazy tramp who’d been comfy in bed while she did the hard work. She might have even thrown in a jab about him being high. But instead, she just stared at the paper.

“Jul?”

She met his eyes for the first time since he’d woken up, and he almost winced from the pain that suddenly coursed from her to him. Julia was still trying to be the tough one while he was injured, even while she was on the verge of falling apart. She’d been calm and composed during her interview with the police. She’d argued politely with billing on Trevor’s behalf to get him on a homeless person’s medical plan and a semi-private room. She’d only pretended to take her pain medicine so she could sit watch over Trevor while he recovered. And now that he was awake, she desperately wanted to be held like a child, but she wouldn’t rest while there was a chance Trevor needed her.

“Owww, I hurt,” Trevor griped. “Cold, too. Like a bloody morgue in here.”

“I can get you another blanket,” Julia said, immediately distracted from her own pain. “I can call the nurse for more morphine.”

“Blanket won’t help,” he complained. “My feet are ice cold, Jul. You just let me freeze this whole time?! You know my old heart doesn’t pump blood like yours. I bet I’ll lose another couple of toes from frostbite. Can’t believe you’d let me freeze to death right under your nose.”

“You’re such a baby!” Julia was almost smiling now. “And you bitch about me being too sensitive?! _Honestly,_ Trev.”

Even as she spoke, she kicked off her shoes and crawled carefully into the bed with him. Trevor tucked the bed-clothes up to her ears like she liked and held her close. Julia put her warm feet on his, which, in his defense, genuinely were a little cold.

“Is that better, you big baby?”

“It’s a start,” Trevor said. “And there’s no need to make fun of me for being cold, thank you very much. I almost died, after all.”

“Oh, please. Like The Hunt would let us rest for that long. You were never at any risk of dying, you hypochondriac.”

There was that tightness in her voice again.

Trevor gave her a light squeeze. “The nurses been taking good care of you?”

“Me?!” She snorted. “You’re the idiot who couldn’t take one simple little scratch.”

“Well, fine, then. They been taking good care of _me?”_

“Yes, Trev. Got all your muscles and other bits pushed back into place and sewed up. A real pretty nurse gave you the sponge bath of a lifetime about an hour ago. Topless, of course. You drooled on her tits and snored so loud she had to wear earplugs.”

They both laughed at that. But Julia stopped laughing too soon, and she curled in on herself like she was in pain.

“What’s wrong?” Trevor asked. “Is it your arm?”

“Yes,” she said.

It was only partly true, but Trevor didn’t know what she was keeping from him.

“Go take your medicine, then. It’s not rocket science, now is it?”

“I can’t,” she said. “I’m… saving them.”

“For what?”

“I bet we could get at least a hundred dollars for them.”

“No, no. It’ll look suspicious if it’s a full bottle,” Trevor said, impressed with his own ability to make shit up on the fly. “Go take one.”

Julia sighed and rolled out of the bed. She returned with her bottle of pills and water bottle and dropped them on Trevor’s chest.

“I can’t open them,” she admitted. “I tried, but it’s impossible with one hand.”

Trevor opened both for her. He poured a single pill into her palm, then, once she’d put it in her mouth, he handed her the water bottle. She gulped down half the bottle before handing it back to him. Trevor drank the rest, only coughing a little.

“Thanks,” Julia said tersely as she climbed back into the bed with him.

“How you holdin’ up?” Trevor asked. “I mean, all things considered?”

“Oh, I’m great!” Julia said bitterly. “I’m just lovely. I’ve just been raped by four teenagers teeming with God knows what diseases, had all my possessions stolen or destroyed, endured invasive forensic exams and humiliating police interrogations—” Her voice rose in pitch with each item on the list. “—had to ask a nurse to help me shower and brush my teeth afterwards because my arm was broken, and then pleaded with a receptionist to not throw my partner onto the street because he doesn’t have insurance. I’m having a positively wonderful night, Trevor!”

“Oh, Jul.” He wrapped her more tightly in the hospital bed-covering. “It’s not as bad as all that. We’ve still got our lives, and that’s what matters most. And they didn’t find Gerry! So when we get the car back, we’ll get him back too. I reckon those two are the hardest things we’d have to replace.”

“And my dad’s watch?”

“Oh, we’ll get that back too.” Trevor grinned without any humor in it. “We’ll get that back when we hunt the boys down, one by one. One of 'em will have it all shined up on his wrist, I guarantee you.”

“I hope you’re right.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “Christ, Trevor. I hated being the prey.”

“I know, Jul.” He rested his head against hers. “I know.”

“I wish I’d gotten us killed instead.”

Trevor gave her a sharp glance. “Don’t you ever say that again.”

“I mean it, though.” She closed her eyes. “It would’ve been better to go out fighting than to live like this.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Your arm’ll heal in a few weeks.”

“I’m not talking about my bloody arm!” Julia covered her eyes with her good hand. “I can’t live like prey, Trevor.”

“That’s temporary too. We’ve been prey before.”

“Not like that.”

“No, but it’s happened, and we flipped the tables then, and we’ll flip 'em again this time.”

She flung her hand away from her face and sat up to look him in the eye. “All right, but what _were_ they? Were you able to tell?”

Trevor’s brow furrowed. “How do you mean?”

“Were they Beholding?” she asked. “Filth? Desolation? Dark? I keep going over and over it again in my mind, and I just can’t figure it out.”

“Oh,” Trevor said. He knew it wouldn’t be what she wanted to hear, but he’d been hunting a long time. “I think they were just humans, Jul. Just some terrible, dickhead humans.”

“No!” She bared her teeth. “They were avatars for something, Trevor, and you know it. Why would they hurt me in an unlit parking lot and smash my phone if they weren’t with The Dark? Why would they destroy and steal all our things if they weren’t with The Desolation? Why would they film my humiliation and make you watch if they weren’t with The Eye?”

“Humans can be awful,” Trevor said. “And it was hardly a fair fight, even—”

“Why would they do it in a wide open space if they weren’t with The Vast?” Julia persisted, as if he hadn’t even spoken. “Why do I remember nothing but crushing, suffocating pressure on my chest if they’re not with The Buried? Why would they revel in covering me and everything I own with their scum and spit and piss if they weren’t with The Filth? Or, you know, the brochure they gave me said stranger rape is the least common type, so maybe they were with The Stranger.”

She paused to swallow. _There’s no possible way a human could take us both down without weapons,_ she thought. _No possible fucking way at all._

“Okay, Jul.” Trevor rubbed her back. “Maybe you’re right.”

They didn’t speak for a few moments while Julia tried to fight down her tears and Trevor tried to rub the pain out of her back and shoulders. The blood pressure cuff came on, crushing the hell out of Trevor’s arm for a few moments. Outside the room, machines beeped and people walked back and forth past the door. The faintest hint of light blue glowed above the blinds on the window.

Julia was the one who finally broke the silence.

“All our money, Trevor!” She sobbed into her uninjured hand. “All our everything!”

The dam was open now, and she couldn’t hold it back anymore. Julia buried her face in Trevor’s hospital gown and stuffed a fistful of blanket into her mouth before screaming. It was the hysterical, inconsolable cry of a hurt child who was sure that the pain and brokenness would never go away.

Trevor hugged Julia so hard her ribs cracked against his arms. “I'd have saved you over the money any day, Jul. Or the car. Or the book.”

_Yes, I know, because you’re a selfish old man!_

“Say it out loud,” Trevor said.

“You—” Julia gulped, trying to stop the convulsing sobs long enough to inhale. “You’re a lazy, selfish old dickhead.”

“Go on.”

“You didn’t let me fight. You didn’t even let me protect myself!”

“Nope.”

“And you let them steal and destroy all our belongings!”

“Sure did. Keep going.”

“You didn’t—You didn’t protect me!” Julia had to stuff the blanket over her mouth quickly as she wailed again. “You made me lie there and let them do all those awful things to me!”

“You can say it, Jul.” Trevor wiped snot from Julia’s face with his fingers. “What did I let 'em do?

“You fucking _let them rape me!”_ Julia exploded, her voice just barely muffled by the bed-clothes. “You watched them rape me and you didn’t do anything but get hard and tell me not to fight it. You didn’t stop them, or protect me, or do _anything_ but sit there and get off on my suffering like the Goddamn Eye! You fucking useless, old, stupid, ugly, cowardly… ugh!”

No matter how much it hurt, it was a relief to hear her say it out loud. It was what Trevor deserved to hear, and it had been poisoning both their minds for hours.

“You’re right,” Trevor said. “I did do all those things. I’m so sorry, Jul.”

Julia pressed the bunch of cloth tighter to her mouth, and then she screamed and screamed until her voice was hoarse and her pain had faded to exhaustion. He could tell the narcotics she’d taken were finally kicking in, too. As her noisy sobs quieted down, Trevor pulled the blanket from her mouth and used it to wipe her face clean.

“I might’ve let ‘em do those things when the alternative was us dying, but that don’t mean they’re getting away with it for long,” Trevor said. “I’ve been thinkin’ up a plan that involves skewers, toenail clippers, and the hungriest, meanest squirrel we can find.”

“I’m listening,” Julia sniffled.

“Well, since I woke up from surgery with this giant tube in my dick, I’ve been thinkin’ up a plan that involves hot irons up their pissholes. But then I thought, why stop there? Why not cut off their little pricks and store 'em up their arses? If we cauterize things properly, it don’t even have to kill ‘em. That way, we can take our time and make 'em _really_ pay for what they done to you.”

Julia rubbed at her eye. “Can we put bottles in their arses and break them, too?”

“Of course.” Trevor smoothed her hair down. “Anything you want. In fact, what say we nick a brand new pair of boots for you just for that purpose?”

“We have to make them come on each other’s faces first,” Julia said.

“Oh, of course, of course. “

“I think we should make them eat each others’ pricks after we cut them off,” Julia said. “More room for bottles that way.”

“Smart, Jul. And I’ve always wanted to see what drain cleaner does to skin.”

“We could use it as lube for the bottles and hot irons.”

“I love the way your brain works.” He kissed her forehead. “We’ll hunt 'em down, Jul. I promise. But first, you’ve gotta rest up so that bone can heal.”

“I know.” Julia took a deep, shuddering breath, releasing the last of her tension. “Tell me a bedtime story, Trev?”

“Sure.” Trevor couldn’t return her possessions or even buy her a greasy breakfast to take the edge off her hangover. But by God, he could definitely plot the gruesome murders of her rapists. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, clever, and snarky-as-all-hell hunter named Julia. She lived in the middle of absolute bloody nowhere with her hunting buddy, an old stray named Trevor.”

“Mmmm, I like that.” Julia smiled into his chest.

Trevor’s heart sped up at Julia’s smile. He told himself it was because it’d been so hard to earn it since he’d woken up. The fact that her smile was the prettiest in the world certainly didn’t help matters. But he was getting distracted now.

“Oh, you like that, do you?” he said. “Which part?”

“You’d make a good stray,” Julia said. “You certainly stink like one.”

“Shhh, you hush.” Trevor could have whooped for joy at her insult, because somehow it meant she’d be okay again, eventually. “Now, one day, some local hoodlums smashed up all Julia’s treasures and all Trevor’s food dishes. They burned down the little hut they lived in and kicked the hunters around. It was cruel and painful, and normal folks would’ve given up right then and there. But Trevor and Julia was hunters, you see. So they scavenged some new weapons and stalked the hoodlums for weeks until the time was right. So many hours, day and night, just watching 'em from a distance. Learning their patterns. Waiting for the right moment to pounce and tear 'em apart.”

“Mmmmm,” Julia said in sleepy approval.

“Then, Julia and Trevor picked off those fuckers one by one, dragging ‘em into the woods and carving ‘em up piece by piece. The hoodlums cried and screamed and begged, but no one could hear ‘em, and the hunters sure as hell weren’t gonna have pity on 'em. They died crying for their mummies, but Julia and Trevor were as cold and hard as their big, sharp hunting knives. And they used those hunting knives to hurt those hoodlums worse than the hoodlums could ever have dreamt of hurting the hunters.”

Julia’s breathing was deep and even. Trevor caressed her arm, but she didn’t stir. She’d been utterly exhausted. He could feel her restorative, dreamless sleep, and it was trying to lull him into it with her. But Trevor had a story to finish.

“When the last hoodlum was finally dead, Trevor and Julia uprooted the hoodlums’ big, fancy house and pulled it to the spot where their burnt-down home used to be. They dropped it onto that plot and moved their new stuff in, and they lived happily ever after, because everyone was too scared to fuck with 'em ever again. The end.”

Julia was drooling a little on Trevor’s hospital gown. He lay back and sighed. He would have given just about anything to join her in that peaceful, safe place, but someone needed to guard her while she was vulnerable.

“Sleep tight, Jul,” he said. “Sweet hunting dreams.”

It was a privilege, getting to see a fierce hunter like his Julia at her most vulnerable like this. She didn’t trust anyone else. So as long as she slept, he was happy to guard her, especially if he got to tease her about her drooling or snoring later on.

Besides, Trevor had already decided he didn’t care what it took—he _would_ have that greasy hangover breakfast waiting for her when she woke up, one way or another. And with no money to his name, that would take some planning. But Jul was worth it.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Mountain Climbing in Texas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18207182) by [radioqueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioqueen/pseuds/radioqueen)




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